[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Parley Baer :" ..After all this time we still do not have the ballistic data."

The key questions are :
How many rounds were discharged by police ?
What was the calibre of police rounds ?
How many bikers were killed by what calibre rounds ?
How many bikers were killed by what calibre biker rounds ?
How many bikers wounded by what calibre rounds ?
What calibre rounds were found on bikers in the 'threat zone' ?
How many police wounded by what calibre rounds ?

It still sounds like a 'honey-trap' with police having been prepared, in position, waiting for something to occur resulting in 'fire-fight'.. even if they had to escalate the situation by themseves.

[Cboldt]

I think confidential informers or undercover cops inside the Cossacks, instigated a mass showing of Cossacks at Twin Peaks. Cossacks are NOT members of the Coalition of Clubs, and although I suspect tat onesy-twosey shwoing up due to interest in the subject matter scheduled for the meeting would have been unremarkable, the fact that 60 or 70 of them came to Twin Peaks about an hour before the meeting, and took the patio that was reserved for the CoC meeting was pretty remarkable.

By their advance preparation (pole cam, on scene in advance), the police demonstrate having advance notice that THIS DAY and THIS PLACE was going to be hot. They knew the Cossacks were planning to "crash the meeting."

So, what did they do? They waited in their cars, just out of sight, and made sure that none of their people were inside the restaurant. They avoided confrontation, until it was too late.

I do understand that instigation and awareness are not the same thing, and my suspicion is that the cops played both parts, although I wrote here mostly of the awareness angle.